Judgemental People/Christians

This past week or so I have been plagued by the fact that people (especially Christians) are so judgemental. I will try to put this into words because this very thing makes me very upset- especially within the Christian community.

This is what encouraged this post:

A little over a week ago, I was at Uccellos with some friends from work. A girl I worked with said something that most people know better than to say to me. She said that she thought Michael Jackson was "weird." I asked "well, do you know him?" She said no. I said "well, have you ever met him?" Again, she responded with a no. I said "well, then you don't really know, do you?" I can't remember if there was any logic or educated response- she just said "I just think he's weird." I again went through my questions, then said "You and I both know there's One Judge, and you're not He." Of course, as a Christian she had nothing to say in response to that.

Then today, I made a joke about how I should have used a funeral day or bereavement time for today. She gave me the death stare, as if I was Satan himself. I looked at her and said "It was a joke!" Then she said some things that really got me hot. She said she thought he was "overrated," and as I told her "Not to go there" she said he was "a freak." I told her again not to go there.

First of all, I know the history. Believe me, I've been a Michael Jackson fan since I was born practically. I know more than the average person does about his life. I still believe in America, our Legal system, and I do believe (as emphasized in the memorial today) that men are innocent until proven guilty. Michael Jackson has not been proven guilty.

I also do believe that ALL men have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. I also believe in his saving grace. I believe that ALL men have sinned. Shall the first of us cast the first stone at Michael Jackson for his legal problems, alleged crimes, "odd" behavior, or changing "look?"

Did you know that before Michael Jackson MTV never played R & B or black artists? Thank you MJ for Thriller.

It really makes me angry when holier-than-thou Christians (or people in general) assume things. And it also ticks me off when Christians go out of their way to judge people (judge not, lest you be judged according to the same measure). The judgmental Christians of this world are the ones who turn people off to the church. I have been on the "turned off" side, so I can speak to it. Its the same for the "fake" Christians. People don't want a part of something fake, judgmental, hypocritical. They want to be part of something genuine, loving, and accepting.

So next time you want to cast that stone, remember that you are not perfect. Whether or not Michael Jackson (or anyone else for that matter) had "Issues" with his looks, money, etc.. think about what occured over the past few weeks. The day he died, the world practically stopped. Every news story was about how he had passed. Everyone was talking about it. No one could believe it. Everyone was listening to songs like "Heal the World," "Earth Song," "Hold Me," and any other song by MJ.

Maybe something else you can do is say to yourself: What can I do to impact the world? How can I do my part?

I'm sorry, but I doubt many of us will know how it feels to have the world love them, and to have impacted so many people through spoken word or song that thousands of people will do whatever it takes to simply have a seat at our funeral.

And today. Hundreds of thousands of people stopped their day to watch or participate in a memorial service to a man they didn't personally know. He was a true humanitarian. He got the whole world to stop and sing "Heal the World, and "We are the World" in the middle of a workweek. People all over the streets of New York City and London were holding hands and singing songs about making the world a better place! How extraordinary is that? How often does it happen that the whole WORLD takes note of an event?

Let's continue to not judge each other, but lift each other up in prayer. Let us get to know each other, and truly love each other. Maybe next time when someone says "I love you," You can respond with "I love you more" and truly mean it.